Purse or handbag with removable lining and transparent cover



K. H. RHODES Oct. 7, 1947.

.PURSE OR HANDBAG WITH REMOVABLE LINING AND TRANSPARENT COVER Fixed oct. 6, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 KERMIT H. RHODES Oct. 7, 1947. K. H. RHODES A 2,428,682

PURSE OR HANDBAG WITH REMOVABLE LINING AND TRANSPARENT COVER Filed Oct. 6, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor KERMIT H. RHODES Patented Oct. 7, 1947 PURSE OR HANDBAG WITH REMOVABLE LINING AND TRANSPARENT COVER Kermit H. Rhodes, Bridgewater, Va., assignor of one-half to Victor L. It. Surman, West Hazelton, Pa.

Application October 6, 1945, Serial No. 620,785

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an improvement in a purse or handbag such as are carried by women for containing their personal effects.

The primary object of the invention is to increase the scope of utility and permit a single handbag or purse to serve the purpose of many.

Fashion decrees that the accessories of a costume be selected to harmonize with the predominating colors of the costume, and as a consequence it has been customary for milady to select the accessories including her purse or handbag to harmonize with each of her costumes. Such practice has involved the accumulation of purses of many sizes, styles, shapes, colors, etc., and inasmuch as such handbags usually outwear the costume for which they were selected, a considerable waste has resulted.

Among its objects my invention is to avoid such waste and enable a single purse to serve as an accessory for a multitude of costumes.

Another object is to facilitate the rapid transformation of the color or color combination of a purse or handbag to match the costume selected as the one to be worn.

The above and other objects may be accomplished by employing my invention which embodies among its features a purse body formed of a transparent substance, and a lining or a plurality of linings of different colors or color combinations which may be introduced within the purse body for the purpose of causing the purse to harmonize with the costume to be worn.

Other features embody a novel fastening by which the lining may be attached to the purse body, and a pouch adapted to fit within the lining in which the personal effects to be carried may be permanently stored so that irrespective of the numbers of times the lining may be changed, the entire contents of the purse may be transferred from one lining to another without necessitating the slow and tedious process of removing the personal effects article by article.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a purse embodying the features of this invention,

Figure 2 is an end view of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a plan view of the lining blank from which the purse lining is to be made,

Figure 4 is a composite view showing the complete lining, pouch and purse cover disassembled,

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view showing the manner in which the lining is securely fastened to the purse cover,

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6--6 of Figure 5, and

Figure 7 is a fragmentary enlarged sectional view taken on the line 1-4 of Figure 4.

Referring to the drawings in detail, my purse cover designated generally l0 comprises a series of strips of transparent material H such as the transparent plastics now in common use. These strips are connected edge to edge by means of a series of spaced parallel flexible members l2 which extend perpendicularly to the longitudinal axes of the strips. It will thus be seen that a jacket is formed which is substantially transparent and is flexible in one direction but relatively rigid in the opposite direction.

Certain of the strips designated iii are provided with longitudinal grooves M which are connected through one side of the strip by a longitudinal slot communicating with the exterior surface thereof to form in effect a dovetail groove. This dovetail groove cooperates with certain elements of the lining, to be more fully hereinafter described, to support the purse lining in place within the cover [0. As shown in Figure 2, one of the strips !3 is arranged at the extreme end of the cover l9, while another such strip is provided next to'the strip at the opposite extreme end of the cover, while the strip at the extreme end immediately adjacent the last-mentioned strip I3 is provided with one-half of a snap fastener I6, the opposite half of which is attached to the outside surface of the cover It] several strips from the strip i3 at the extreme end of the cover, as shown in Figure 2, so as to provide an overlap when the purse is closed.

A lining designated generally II comprising a strip of flexible material 18 such as a fabric of suitable color is provided. This strip or body i8 is of a length to extend between the strips l3 of the cover In and is provided adjacent opposite ends with hems l9 forming tubular housings for a purpose to be more fully hereinafter described. The strip i8 is provided near one end with lateral extensions 2i] forming the end walls or gussets of the purse, and the blank shown in Figure 3 is folded, as illustrated in Figure 4, and sewn in that position to form the body portion of the purse. Obviously, the lining I! may be constructed of any suitable material, and in fact it is contemplated that a plurality of these linings shall be provided for each cover, one such lining being constructed of a material which harmonizes with a certain costume, while other linings will be constructed of materials harmonizing with other costumes.

In order to avoid the necessity of removing the personal effects from the purse one by one when the linings are changed, I provide a pouch 2! (Fig. 4) which is of substantially the same size and contour as the pocket formed in the lining. The personal effects may be thereby transferred. as a unit from one lining to the other.

In order to secure the linings in place, each is provided, as previously described, with a hem H9 at opposite ends, and these hems are adapted to be introduced into the slots l4 through their ends so that the stitched portions of the linings rest within the groove l5 and the parts are held together in such position my means of a bar 22 which is adapted to enter the hems to spread them into the passages [4, as illustrated in Fig-- ures 5 and 6. Each of the bars 22 is provided with a head 23 to facilitate its extraction'from its position in the lining when it is desired to remove the lining from the cover I0. I

Obviously, the purse liningsmay beinterchanged as frequently as maybe desired by extracting the bars 22 and withdrawing the hems. from the slots I 4 and then replacing a newor difierent lining as described.

It will thusbe seen that a durable exterior cover is provided which maybe repeatedly used withlinings of different colors or different color combinations to allow the purse to be made to conform to the color of thecostume with which itis to be used. It is obvious, however, that should it be \found desirable, the strips. H and I3 may be made of an opaque colored material, in

i Y which. event, of course,'a purse would be required for each change of costume. In the latter case, should the linings become Worn or 1;

otherwise unserviceable, they could readily be changed for new ones.

While in the foregoing there hasbeen: shown and described the preferred embodiment ofithis invention, it is to be understood that minor t:

changes in the details of construction, combina tion and arrangement of parts may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim: A purse including a. flexible .cover. formed of a plurality of durable; soil. resistant transparent strips, spaced parallel flexible members joining th strips edge to edge, certain of the strips be-' ing provided with dovetail grooves, a lining adaptedto be enclosed by the cover, said lining having hems' at opposite ends adapted to @align I with the strips having the'dovetail grooves3 with the hems respectively being inserted in said.

grooves, lockingbars adapted to be entered into the hems to lock them into the dovetail grooves and a head at one end of each locking bar to close the end of its respective dovetail'groove.

Australia Dec. 9, 1935 

